With three out of four possible point results, the BMW M4 GT3 made a solid debut in the ADAC GT Masters. In the second race, Nick Catsburg and Jesse Krohn even got a taste of the podium, but Jonathan Aberdein withstood the pressure from Catsburg in the “Mamba”.
Would it have been enough for Schubert Motorsport to get on the podium if the car had accelerated a little better out of the corners? While the M4 GT3 leads the top speed lists, it struggled on corner exit. The power development is currently more reminiscent of a naturally aspirated engine.
Jesse Krohn is therefore hoping that the SRO’s BoP makers will tweak the torque curve a bit. “The top speed is a little misleading. It gives the impression that we have a lot of power. But our problem is the way the power is delivered,” the 31-year-old told “Motorsport-Total.com”.
“At the beginning [der Geraden] the opponents pull us away by two to three vehicle lengths. You have the power out of the curve. We’ll fetch then [im Laufe der Geraden] on. So it’s just a different way of how we get our performance. So I would be happy to lose a little top speed but have more instant power in return. That would help us in the race.”
Krohn says that despite the top speed, it is very difficult to overtake with the BMW: “We are in a strange situation [Performance-] Window. It is not the final performance that matters, but how it is delivered. I think it will definitely be better on other tracks [als in Oschersleben]. But I’m hoping for a change so it’s more in line with what the others have.”
Tire-friendly M4 strong at the end of the race
The disadvantage in attacking was clearly shown in Catsburg’s battle against Aberdein at the end of the second race. The Mercedes-AMG is the exact antithesis of the M4: a lot of “boom” at the corner exit, but mediocre top speed. By the time the M4’s top speed advantage came into play, the “Mamba” had already gained a lead of several vehicle lengths at the start of the straight.
On the other hand, defending with the M4 GT3 is a bit easier because it gets stronger as the straights progress. Both M4s could not be overtaken in the first race and sometimes pulled a long line of vehicles behind them, which had to queue.
An improvement over the predecessor M6 GT3 also helped: “It’s positive that the tires held up well throughout the entire stint. That was always the problem with the M6, especially here. You just couldn’t go easy on the tires. But now it was consistent throughout the stint and we were competitive throughout the race.”
That’s why the old adage “The BMW doesn’t work in Oschersleben” belongs to the past: “Everyone has a little bit in their head that the track doesn’t suit the BMW. But it just didn’t suit the M6. The M4 was designed in such a way that he’s more of an all-rounder. It was a whole different story here with the M4 from the first lap.”
If the performance characteristics do not change, the BMW M4 GT3 would be predestined for the Red Bull Ring with its long straights. “It was always a good track for us,” says Krohn, “but again: we have to forget most of the past this year, because every track is a new challenge before us.”
“We have to do a lot of set-up work to understand what we need at each track. The M6 was strong at the Red Bull Ring but that doesn’t mean the M4 will be strong there too. Throughout the season But we will be much more consistent with this package.”